Hi, everyone! Happy almost-holiday weekend to all our American readers!
In typical American fashion, I plan to eat at least three meals this coming weekend in barbecue form. So I thought I’d ask everyone: what’s your favorite thing to eat at a BBQ? Pretty sure mine is macaroni salad, which, sure isn’t itself grilled, but very often accompanies BBQ fare. I mean, pasta, mayonnaise, microscopic bits of vegetables…what’s not to love?
So what about everyone else? What’s your favorite thing to eat when someone fires up the grill?
14 replies on “Lunchtime Poll: Memorial Day BBQs!”
Tortellini salad. Lots and lots of tortellini salad.
I guess I should preface this by saying that I am 100% Texan. We’re serious about our BBQ down here.
My favorite would probably be lean, tender beef brisket covered in Texas-style sauce. I can eat a pound of it by myself if I don’t save room for my second favorite, smoked sausage.
Annnnd I just had my wisdom teeth out so I can’t eat any of it for awhile. I AM SO HUNGRY NOW, Y’ALL.
Please to send to me. I once got into a several days-long argument with an old coworker about brisket. I was lamenting not being able to find it after moving to NYC from Texas and he told me to just go to any Jewish deli. I’ve since had that version and it’s fine but barbecued brisket is the only true brisket for me.
Salmon or potato salad!
I don’t eat ribs often but on occasion I crave the fuck out of some good BBQ ribs.  I’m not much of a bbq person though because in general I despise eating outdoors.
Mom’s potato salad! With red bliss potatoes and chives and mayonnaise and BACON.
Just a reminder to all Eurovision fans that I’m live-blogging the entire contest tomorrow (Saturday) night! It all kicks off at 8pm in Britain, 3pm East Coast US. Two words: ENGLEBERT HUMPERDINCK. See you there!
Oh, and Jedward will be there too.
Majestic.
Jedward will be there?
RUN AWAY
Hey, those are my countrymen you’re talking about!
(I mean, yes, mad as a sack full of badgers, but still…)
Grilled onions. We slice up an onion, wrap it in aluminum foil twice and throw it on the grill right at the beginning. They take forever to cook, so they usually end up being desert, but they are perfect. The double foil prevents them from burning. If you do it right, they literally melt in your mouth. So good.
Marinated chicken thighs are good right off the grill, too. And my dad’s salmon, which I have been unable to replicate. I don’t know what his secret is.
It depends on what they’ve got, but my fave BBQ food ever was wood-smoked corn that one of my friends used to make. But so much is good… grilled veggies, shrimp, sausages, ribs, hot dogs, burgers…it’s hard to go wrong unless the cooking isn’t done right (and, having seen some hockey-puck burgers and such, it is possible to mess up something, but there usually seems to always be something else to have instead).
My mum’s proper German potato salad. Oh maaaaaan. Not with that salad cream crap – with proper mayonnaise. Mmmmmmm.
Also, things involving cheese.
I miss cheese so much!
BBQs are often sadly bereft of veggie food (though I do love a good veggie burger), but I went to a barbeque once that involved roasted potatoes that had been smoked on the grill, and they were AMAZING.
Also, a friend of mine recently informed me that it’s common in Central America to put lime or lemon juice on corn, rather than butter and salt the way I’m used to. We didn’t have any limes kicking around, but lemon wedges squeezed/rubbed on corn is DOUBLE AMAZING.
RIBS, BAKED BEANS.
It’s so wonderful.